do I understand...Pennywise is NOT a spider in this movie . this was left out...

is this true, ...this would be a deal breaker

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Pennywise wasn't revealed to be a spider-thing is this movie. That said, one of the points of this movie is that the Losers never killed IT, just drove IT away into hiding for a time, even though they hoped IT was actually dead. Probably one key to killing IT will be breaking through to IT's true physical form, which is perhaps that of a spider-demon and perhaps something else.

For my part I liked the movie even with the stuff that was left out (and quite a bit of stuff was left out, including, thank God, the weird child-orgy scene from the book). I will say that the movie kind of over-simplified things with the kids dealing with IT. In the book the kids developed a bit of understanding of IT's nature to the point that they were able to "weaponize" their beliefs to use against IT. The movie falls back on the "don't be afraid/friendship is magic" kind of thing which makes the kids' triumph here seem a little less earned.

Still, overall I liked the movie, liked the young actors in the movie, think the best thing for the kids would be to move out of town and sterilize the place with a nuke and am looking forward to seeing the next installment of the movie once it's made in a couple-three years.

do I understand...Pennywise is NOT a spider in this movie . this was left out...

is this true, ...this would be a deal breaker

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It is true, Pennywise does not appear as a spider at the end, but they do give an easter egg to that form. When IT is fighting the kids, it transforms into several other forms, including the Mummy for Ben and IT sprouts two spider limbs when attacking Bill (I think it was Bill). It is similar to the Turtle references earlier, this movie doesn't address the macroverse version of the story, and for me, that is OK, but there are references it as a nod of respect to the fans.

Don't let that be a deal breaker. This is an EXCEPTIONAL movie, and it captures the heart of the novel better than almost any other adaptation I can remember. You should definitely give it a chance.

I'm gonna put the sorry, deflated red balloon on the King shelf, maybe cram it between a couple heavy hardbacks. Keep it always; a memento of one of the few times Hollywood managed to get a King flick right; and of the time some psycho tied balloons to the cars in the Showland parking lot.

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Muskie- please do not put that balloon between your books. It will eventually start to rot and break down and will stick to the books. Just a heads up.

I loved it. Really, truly loved it. There were changes, both big and small, that have been widely discussed here and elsewhere but they absolutely captured the heart of the story. I didn't find it particularly scary but there were still some good jumps for me, in spite of knowing what was coming, and it was definitely scarier than the original. I can't wait for Part 2!

What did y'all think?

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Some random thoughts about the movie:

I wonder if Richie was telling the truth about getting laid? probably not.

Something that irked me a little about the movie: The whole thing about Bowers burning down Mike's house, where did that come from?

Something kind of funny: When I saw Mr. Keene in the trailer I said "He looks like a pedophile!" and then when I watched the movie I was stunned to discover I was right.

I'm not sure what you mean. Mike talked about his house being burned down by racists but I'm pretty sure he didn't name Bowers for that.

They definitely made major changes to his character from the book but I think it worked well for the movie and didn't take anything important away from the core story.

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I could have sworn that towards the end of the movie Henry told Mike he was the one who burned his house down, but maybe i'm mistaken. I'm gonna see if my mom will take me to see this again this weekend, much like the book rewards repeat readings i'm sure the movie rewards repeat viewings.

I could have sworn that towards the end of the movie Henry told Mike he was the one who burned his house down, but maybe i'm mistaken. I'm gonna see if my mom will take me to see this again this weekend, much like the book rewards repeat readings i'm sure the movie rewards repeat viewings.

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It's very possible I missed it. I guess I'll have to go see it again too.

It's very possible I missed it. I guess I'll have to go see it again too.

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I feel like there was supposed to be more scenes with Mike's grandpa. I mean, they have this great actor Steven Williams playing him and he only shows up at the beginning; Plus Mike mentioned something about his grandpa saying Derry isn't right.

In the book the kids developed a bit of understanding of IT's nature to the point that they were able to "weaponize" their beliefs to use against IT. The movie falls back on the "don't be afraid/friendship is magic" kind of thing which makes the kids' triumph here seem a little less earned.

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this is likely a byproduct of time issues. considering just how much story there is to develop, we had to settle for a lighter version of that deep thought.

I could have sworn that towards the end of the movie Henry told Mike he was the one who burned his house down, but maybe i'm mistaken. I'm gonna see if my mom will take me to see this again this weekend, much like the book rewards repeat readings i'm sure the movie rewards repeat viewings.